Petals in the Snow
by storygirl1015
Summary: Tinkerbell and her friends take Zarina to visit Winter Woods and end up witnessing the birth of a new Winter fairy. Titania is unique, born with two talents and a desire to prove herself worthy of them. But when she must step up in order to help the other fairies save Neverland from an ancient evil, will she have what it takes?


**Got the idea after Disney aired all the Tinkerbell movies to date in a week. I thought this up and wrote this within a couple of days, so I hope it's okay. Please be kind as I'm still new in terms of Tinkerbell and Pixie Hollow. I grew up knowing a Tinkerbell that was always tagging along with Peter Pan, flew into fits of jealousy, and was for the most part silent. But I like "Disney Fairies" and wanted to try it out. This happens after the events of The Pirate Fairy.**

 **I don't own Disney Fairies (name kinda explains that) or the characters of the Tinkerbell films. I only own my OC.**

 **This story is rated T for possible swearing as well as mild violence down the road. Don't read if this offends you!**

 **Summary:** Tinkerbell and her friends decide to take Zarina to the Winter Woods for the first time, but of course a slight mishap aids in the birth of an unusual new fairy. Meanwhile, just as peace is returning and the Never Fairies are united, old adversaries rear their ugly heads, and it's up to the new girl to join with both realms to save everyone from an evil that not only threatens Pixie Hollow, but all of Neverland!

* * *

Off the shores of Hawaii, far away from the enchanted realm of Neverland, two lovers watched as fireworks lit up the sky in brilliant bursts of color. "I'm so glad we decided to come here together." The woman whispered, squeezing her husband's hands tightly. She glanced down to the eight month old infant sprawled on her stomach at their feet. "I think our little coconut is too."

Chuckling, her father picked the gurgling baby up, holding her against his chest so she could see the skies light up again, this time in a brilliant burst of blue. "See Kaitlyn, aren't the fireworks amazing?"

The deep colors popping in the sky reflected in the baby's eyes, and a wide grin split her round little face. The roar of the fireworks sounded overhead, only to be replaced with something that made the young couples' hearts soar even higher—their daughter was laughing.

The woman gasped, looking to her husband with twinkling eyes. "She…she's laughing!" The small family embraced, baby Kaitlyn between them, babbling energetically.

None of them noticed the tiny bit of light that came from the baby's mouth and floated through the air, toward the ocean. The speck of light glowed faintly, drifting in an aimless pattern, almost confused. It danced around, circled, bobbed and floated, but couldn't find what it was looking for. That was, until it stumbled into a small hibiscus that had been floating lazily on the water. The plant shook lightly, a warm tropical breeze lifting it up into the air and off on its new journey.

* * *

Tinkerbell helped her friend into the new coat she'd made, beaming as the brown-haired fairy fumbled to button it. "Are you ready?" the blonde asked excitedly.

Zarina looked up at the energetic Tinker, who was grinning at her expectantly. "Lead the way," she smirked. Tinkerbell took her hand, but not before the former pirate fairy snatched some of the new dust samples she was working with from her desk. She never left something that important lying around now.

Near the border of the Autumn Woods, the rest of their group of friends was waiting. Zarina smiled a genuine smile when she saw them. It was thanks to them that she was back in Pixie Hollow, redeemed and with a new sense of purpose. Fairy Gary welcomed her back to the guild with open arms, and even let her have a small portion of dust for her alchemy.

"Well _there_ you two are," Rosetta called in her warm Southern drawl. "You were movin' slower than a porcupine's quills dipped in molasses." Tink and Zarina exchanged confused looks with the group, who shrugged.

"Never mind that now," the redheaded fairy sighed. "Let's get across that border and on that ice!" Everyone cheered in agreement, quickly flitting across with Tink tugging Zarina anxiously. She couldn't wait for her to see the Winter fairies. Gliss waited with Periwinkle on the other side, practically bouncing as she greeted them.

"Hi guys, oooh you brought another one!" the hyper Frost fairy cried. "I remember you! From the Fairy Talent show." She continued, flying over to circle Zarina as Peri helped to frost everyone's wings.

"Um, Gliss?"

The white-haired fairy blinked. "Huh? Oh, right." She began to help her friend frost everyone up, still talking. "Your work with dust? Amazing~!" she squealed, "our dust talent fairies were _so_ jealous!"

Zarina blinked, surprised that this winter fairy was being so casual with her. Sure, she'd been accepted back into Pixie Hollow, and they all marveled at her discoveries for different uses of pixie dust, but some fairies still kept their distance. Tinkerbell and her friends told her she didn't have to, but the moment she got an audience with the Queen, she confessed to all she'd done and apologized for her actions. Queen Clarion was merciful, luckily, but some fairies still saw her as a traitor.

"We've got something for you." Gliss beamed as the faries followed behind Tink and Periwinkle, who had took off laughing together as soon as everyone's wings were frosted. Zarina looked at her curiously.

The white-haired fairy handed her a small pouch. "Tink told us you haven't gotten a sample of dust from the Winter Woods, yet, right?" Zarina accepted the tiny sack, dumbfounded.

She stared up at the other fairy's warm grin as she flew beside her. "N-no, I haven't…thank you!"

Gliss laughed, "Nah, don't thank me! It's a gift from all of us Winter faries! We think it'd be amazing if you used that dust to make a winter talent like you did with all the others."

"I…actually haven't mastered _all_ the different talents yet." Zarina smiled, seeing she had the Winter fairy's full attention. "So far, I've made about ten different dusts that can imitate and enhance a handful of the talents in Pixie Hollow."

She held the sample up like it was a precious gem, stroking the side of the pouch with her thumb. "This'll go a long way in my research." Gliss looked proud.

Zarina quickly tied the pouch to her waist as the frozen lake came into view. She gasped in wonder at the whole new world spread out before her. Warm and Winter fairies alike skated around or had snowball fights on the bank.

"Hey!" Tink called, cupping a hand to her mouth and waving at a small group of winter fairies conversing on the other side of the ice. They were standing near what looked like some kind of sled hooked to a small rabbit.

The trio looked over, smiling when they saw Periwinkle had made it back with Tinkerbell and the other Warm fairies. Zarina watched as the group came over. The baby rabbit followed behind with the sled. There were two sparrow men and another winter fairy with dark hair and a neutral expression. She almost reminded her of Vidia.

"You're using the new sled I made you!" she heard Tinkerbell gush. The dark-haired sparrow men nodded, sending the Tinker a look of appreciation.

"Yep, works like a charm." The male fairy ran a hand over the strange sled. "Carries twice the load and puts half as much pressure on the bunnies." He scratched the rabbit's ear and it snuggled into his palm, one leg thumping in satisfaction. "Thanks Tink."

Tinkerbell saluted. "Happy to help!"

Zarina studied the contraption and realized it was similar to the wagons the Tinkers made, except that this one was apparently pulled by rabbits, not mice, and had tracks to help it glide over the ice and snow banks instead of wheels.

"Not bad," she muttered. She and Tinkerbell were fellow creative minds, even if they were from different Talent groups. That was why she'd entrusted Tink with seeing her dust experiments before anyone else.

"Hop on ladies," the sparrow man beckoned. "You have to check out the slopes." Tinkerbell had told them the Winter fairies were going to teach them to ski today.

The Warm fairies instantly piled on, Rosetta getting in front with him and snuggling extra close. Zarina realized that Queen Clarion and the Lord of Winter weren't the only couple in Pixie Hollow that came from different sides of The Border. She got on in between Fawn and an ever-nervous looking Iridessa. Vidia was the only one who didn't immediately board, crossing her arms and looking haughty, standing there in the snow.

"What's the matter, Vidia?" Tinkerbell asked innocently.

"I'm not getting in some stupid little rickshaw cart." she replied hotly. "In case you haven't noticed, pretty much everything you do backfires sooner or later."

Zarina hid a smirk at the way she sniffled subtly, trying to hide the fact that she was colder than she let on. Well, her face was anyway. The purple-clad fairy had a nose as red as a cherry by this point.

"Suit yourself," Tink shrugged as Sled gave the reins a shake and the bunny began hopping through the snow with ease. The Fast Flying fairy remained there, nosed raised until she realized they had no intention of coming back for her.

"Hey," she scoffed, easily flying to catch up. "I didn't say you could go _without_ me, you know!"

* * *

Zarina was genuinely surprised that the day had been as fun as it was. The Winter fairies were a colorful bunch of characters, and the counterparts of Tinkerbell and the others in just about every way. Periwinkle was somewhat quieter and less outgoing than her sister.

It made the Dust Keeper wonder if she was as rebellious and reckless as the Tinker they all knew and loved. But when the subject turned to said Tinker's latest inventions, Peri's eyes lit up, and she started rambling about her own projects with her "Found Things" as she apparently called them. Suddenly the resemblance was perfectly clear.

After skiing, which had ended disastrously when they'd all rolled down the slope in a giant snowball after a clumsy attempt, everyone was relaxing and playing in the snow. Gliss taught everyone how to make snow angels and Spike and Vidia hung back on the side, sharing their somewhat cynical views. Zarina, while she _was_ enjoying herself, still hung back, feeling slightly lonely.

It had been almost six months since she'd returned to Pixie Hollow, yet she was still getting used to being home. Her time away had changed her in many ways. For example, she still hadn't returned to wearing her old clothes. The pirate attire seemed to have stuck, and while she no longer dressed exactly as she had while on the ship, she had modified her wardrobe to a much different version of what it once was.

Tinkerbell had helped her pick some fabrics from the tailor's shop, since they were now mass-producing winter attire so fairies could safely cross The Border. Instead of her normal headband, she wore a headwarmer. A long winter-trench coat in the brown of her pirate coat and knee-high snow boots made up Zarina's current winter look.

The brown-haired fairy idly stroked the small bag of dust at her hip, mind racing at all the possibilities. She was starting to get antsy to go back to her workshop. Finding a way to imitate the winter talents and keep them working, even in the Warm seasons, would definitely get her high praise from Lord Milori and the Ministers, she was sure.

"Hey! Look at this," Silvermist gasped suddenly, gently picking up a pretty powder blue flower that had been snagged on a tree branch. The others crowded around her, staring at the flower in wonder. Zarina wandered over too, more bored than curious.

There was a collective "whoa" as Rosetta stroked one of the petals. "Oh my word, this is a hibiscus! Well in all my years as a garden fairy I never saw one other than on the Mainland." She told the others, accepting it as Sil handed it over. "And even then they only wash up on the beach every so often."

The others all leaned in closer, and by this time some of the winter fairies had joined them. This was the first time any of them had seen a tropical flower. It wasn't that long ago the Warm fairies had introduced them to the fauna from the other seasons.

"A rare flower, huh?" Zarina muttered, taking it from Rosetta, "this could cause some interesting changes to the formula…" Rosetta's eyes quirked and she huffed, stepping over and snatching it back.

"Oh no, sugar. I'm afraid this little blossom's gonna come back to the garden fairy guild." she said, looking at the flower the way Tinkerbell looked at a Lost Thing. "A little luck and engineering and we can use the petals to grow more." Rosetta hugged it close to her chest with a wistful sigh.

"What's one little flower?" Zarina huffed, taking it once again. "Besides, I can cut it up into pieces and give you a handful of petal; that should be enough, right?"

"It _belongs_ with the garden fairies!" Rosetta ground out, stepping up and reaching for it again.

"No, it belongs in my alchemy!"

The other fairies watched as Zarina and Rosetta started to tug the poor little flower back and forth. Iridessa noticed the flower had a soft glow, and gasped suddenly. She wasn't an expert on plants, but she knew all about light, and there was no mistaking that one.

She ran forward, hoping to stop them. "Guys, wait! I think that's—whoa!" Unfortunately, the poor light fairy slipped across the ice, plowing into the arguing duo and causing them to lose their grip on the blossom. Everyone gasped as they watched the flower fly through the air and Zarina yelled in protest when she noticed that the sample of dust she'd going from the Winter Fairies' reserves going along with it.

"Ooh, I got it!" Silvermist shouted, flying for the items and bumping heads with Gliss as they both dove for them at the same time. Spike and Vidia smacked their foreheads in exasperation. No one was quick enough to catch the falling bag of dust as it upended over the flower that had fluttered down to land softly in the snow.

Zarina wanted to cry at the loss of her beautiful dust. She hadn't even gotten a chance to find out what it could do yet! She glared at the garden fairy, who gave her the same look of frustration. Rosetta was picking herself up, pouting as she shook the powdery snow from her hair when Tink gasped in awe. "G-guys, look!"

The fairies on the ice and both the Warm and Winter fairies alike gathered around as the flower slowly changed into a female fairy, curled up in a ball.

"Well, pluck my petals," Rosetta breathed. "Here we were fightin' and all along, it was a new fairy."

"I tried to tell you," Iridessa said.

"But really? She came in on a flower? I thought fairies are supposed to get here on dandelion seeds? _Just_ what Pixie Hollow needs, another fre—" Vidia scoffed as Tink smacked her arm lightly.

The newborn slowly lifted her head, blinking as she stared up at the faces of the crowd, looking both curious and confused. The others noticed that her simple pants and smock were the tropical blue of the hibiscus. "Uh h-hi?"

"Hi there," Tinkerbell grinned big. There hadn't been any new fairies since her arrival in Pixie Hollow, so this was the first time she'd actually been present for a fairy birth.

"Welcome to Pixie Hollow," a warm voice greeted.

"Queen Clarion!" Tink said.

"Lord Milori," Periwinkle exclaimed as the Winter Lord landed, dismounting his owl.

"W-wha… how did you guys know a new fairy was coming?" Tink asked.

Clarion chuckled softly, going toward the dazed little fairy and crouching in front of her. "Why, I'm the Queen, dear. It's my job to see to new arrivals. No matter where they land." She stroked the fairy's white hair and helped her to her feet.

She was surprised when she noticed the new arrival had two different colored eyes. One was a pale blue color while the other was a warm hazel brown. "Stunning," Clarion remarked. The newborn tilted her head in curiosity with the same doe-eyed look most new fairies shared.

Tinkerbell and her friends looked at her carefully. The new fairy had snowy white hair, like most of the winter fairies, but golden, sun-kissed skin. Her long hair fell past her shoulder blades, squarely cut bangs covering her forehead.

"Born of laughter. Clothed in cheer. Happiness has brought you here." The Queen recited. "Welcome to Pixie Hollow, little one. I trust you found your way here alright?"

The new fairy looked up at the Queen, her face thoughtful before she answered. "Actually, n-not really. I wasn't sure where I was supposed to go…I may have gotten lost, but I'm not really sure."

The Queen smiled genially and Lord Milori chuckled. "An earnest one isn't she?" he asked.

"Yes," Clarion agreed, guiding the new fairy up the embankment toward the Winter Wood's Pixie Dust Falls. She let go of her hands, circling behind her as everyone that had followed took their places, realizing excitedly that they were about to witness the induction of a new fairy into the Hollow. "Now, let's get those wings working."

She ran a warm hand over the fairy's back, between her shoulder blades. She sighed at the Queen's touch, suddenly feeling her wings become warm and light as they came to life. She was moving them slowly when the Queen gasped in a way that suggested something unexpected had happened. It made the newborn nervous when that gasp was echoed by everyone assembled. "W-what's wrong?" she asked nervously.

"Her wings…" Lord Milori whispered. "I've never seen anything like it."

The bronzed fairy tried to peek over her shoulder, but was only able to turn her head enough to catch a faint glimpse of something iridescent. The tall, white-haired sparrow man standing nearby graciously constructed a full-length mirror from ice.

"Take a look," She turned to the side and looked at the mirror, noting she had two sets of long slender wings, like a dragonfly. A quick glance back at all the other fairies told her why everyone was so shocked. No one else had two pairs of wings, and no one else's were shaped so strangely. Everywhere she looked, everyone had the same clear wings, ending in pointed tips while hers rounded off. Only the tall, elegant fairy in the gold dress had sparkling golden butterfly wings.

"Why are my wings…I mean, what's wrong with them?" she asked meekly, looking up at the queen with worried eyes.

Realizing the poor thing must be nervous enough as it was without all the staring and gaping, Clarion quickly reclaimed her poised look, taking her hands reassuringly. "Nothing's wrong with different, darling." She looked up at the sparrow man by her side, and his eyes had softened. All the other fairies, including the ones that had first found her, were now all looking at her with kindness.

She gave them a tiny smile. "Now, for your talent." Clarion said, urging her forward. "Since she was born in this realm, I believe she'll be one of yours, Milori. Will you do the honors?"

Nodding, the newcomer watched in awe as the person she now knew was Milori waved and a circle of crystal pedestals jutted up around them.

The unnamed fairy watched in interest as fairies wearing wintery clothes of white, mint green and powder blue flitted down to place different things on them. The fairy was hesitant but an encouraging hand on her shoulder from the Winter Lord got her moving again. She stood in the middle of the circle, eyes on her from all directions, wondering what she was supposed to do.

A group of fairies that included the bubbly pony-tailed fairy she saw with the group from before was looking at her with eagerness as she approached a small ball of frost. She gently bent down to pick it up, only for it to begin cracking. She jumped back, startled.

The group of fairies looked slightly disappointed, but not upset. The female fairy she recognized gave her a wink of encouragement and she moved on to the next platform. It was a snowflake, beautiful and crystal clear. This time, instead of trying to handle it, she gingerly stroked one finger over the shiny surface, but it didn't do anything, and the saddened fairy guessed that meant it wasn't the talent for her.

She tried several more, each one yielding similar results. Something told her this wasn't supposed to be happening, and she was beginning to feel slightly disheartened. She looked over to the two fairies that seemed to be in charge, surprised to see neither looked angry or annoyed. They waited patiently for her to try the remaining three items.

Taking a deep breath for courage, she walked over to a small, downy feather, carefully touching it. She shrunk away, waiting for rejection, but was shocked when it began floating instead, glowing faintly at first before getting brighter. At the same time, the murmuring from the crowd picked up, and she could vaguely see some fairies pointing from the corner of her eye. The usual blinding light made everyone turn away, and the nameless girl wondered what was happening. Was this what was supposed to happen? What if she was some kind of defect?

That racing thought quickly disappeared when she felt something in both hands. The light was too bright to look, but she squinted down the minute it started to fade, surprised to see a white feather in one palm, and what looked like some kind of kit in the other.

Milori and Clarion shared a wordless glance of disbelief. "Two…" Clarion came closer. "Two talents?" the new fairy was afraid this meant she'd be rejected, but instead the Queen embraced her, laughing cheerfully. "Well, you're certainly the exceptional girl."

Milori placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around before addressing the gathered fairies, who looked on anxiously. "Winter Fairies, our newest arrival—Titania." he spoke, pride clearly evident in his deep voice. "Animal Talents, Healing Talents, come and welcome your newest guild member."

The two groups looked at each other before a sizable swarm flew down on her from both directions crowding in close and offering her pats on the head and words of congratulations. She felt a cool hand brush her palm as someone took the feather from her.

She looked up to see a handsome dark-haired sparrow man grinning at her. "Hey, welcome to the Winter Woods, Titania. I'm Sled. I lead the Winter Fairies' Animal Talent guild." She smiled back shyly, feeling her cheeks warm the longer he looked at her.

There was an excited tap on her shoulder, and she started as a widely grinning face popped up inches from her own. There was a female fairy with white hair in a pageboy cut looking at her with bright gray eyes. "And I'm Odetta. I'm the representative for the Healing Talents."

"N-Nice to…meet you?" Titania stammered as Odetta gave her a hearty handshake.

Lord Milori and Queen Clarion came over, easily making their way through the crowd of clamoring fairies, who parted respectively. Milori cleared his throat, "Normally, you'd be sent to be shown around, escorted by a member of your talent to your home and then begin your training."

Titania noticed both Odetta and Sled hovering close behind her. "But you have two talents and belong to two guilds…it's quite unique. I apologize that this means your workload will be double everyone else's—"

"No, I can manage." Titania assured. Clarion smiled at the girl's determination.

"In that case," Milori smiled faintly, "I'll leave it up to you how to divide your time. As long as you devote yourself to both Talents equally, I don't see the harm in setting your own hours."

Titania smiled gratefully as he turned to Sled and Odetta. "I'll leave her in your hands." He told them.

"Yes, sir." They bowed in unison.

Just then, the blond fairy and her friends flew over.

"You're gonna love it here." The one in green assured.

"Oh honey, Pixie Hollow is just the bee's knees." The redhead agreed. "I'm Rosetta, by the way." She introduced. Titania decided she liked her honeydew southern belle accent and motherly aura. The rest of the group chattered excitedly in agreement, introducing themselves one by one. There was Tinkerbell, Rosetta, Silvermist, Iridessa, Fawn, Zarina and Vidia. They were all Warm fairies who were just visiting the Woods when she'd happened to arrive, apparently.

"I guess we should give you the full tour then." Sled announced after the meet and greets were over. Odetta nodded, looking up at the sky. "Good idea. We've got some time before sunfall, but then again we also have a lot of ground to cover." She turned to Titania. "You ready?"

The new fairy shrugged, sweeping some of her long hair over her shoulder. "I guess so?" Odetta took her hand and started to fly, "Let's go then."

Titania nervously imitated her, fluttering first one set of wings and then the other, until she was moving both in tandem. She managed to clumsily lift herself into the air, not letting go of Odetta's hand the whole time.

Sled flew over to peck Rosetta on the cheek, and she blushed, giggling girlishly. The orange-wearing fairy, Fawn, nudged her with a small smirk. Titania tried to ignore the small pang as she looked away, embarrassed she'd gotten all doe-eyed over a taken fairy.

"Bye, Tani, see you later!" Silvermist called as they both followed after Sled. Titania looked back toward the ground where the other fairies were quickly becoming smaller, confused.

"D-Did she mean me?"

"Must have," Odetta laughed. "Looks like you've got yourself a new nickname."

Titania waved back, even though she wasn't sure they could see it.

When she looked forward again, they were flying over what looked like a forest path, passing trees covered in icicles and bushes powdered with snow. "This is the heart of the Winter Woods." Odetta explained. "It's the actual woods part." She giggled as if she'd just made a great joke, so Titania joined in nervously.

"The name makes it sound like it's _all_ woods, right? But we have glades and a frozen lake too." She continued, and Titania found herself swerving to avoid a fluffy white bird perched on a branch and staring at her with huge yellow eyes.

Sled chuckled when she yelped. "Don't worry, the snowy owls here are harmless. We're actually in charge of raising the new hatchlings every year and training them." Titania looked at him, slightly doubtful. "The only real dangerous birds are hawks. They mostly stay over on the side with the Warm seasons, but occasionally they get hungry enough, they'll start hunting here; so always keep an eye out. If you hear the Scout fairies give the signal, run and hide. Got it?"

Titania nodded, wide-eyed and shivering. Sled noticed she looked scared and flew closer, patting her arm in reassurance. "Hey, why so nervous? You're an Animal Talent, remember? So you'll be a natural. Plus, I'll be coaching you." Titania swallowed, not sure if that should make her _more_ worried or relieved. She hardly wanted to make a fool of herself in front of the smooth sparrow man.

Luckily, Odetta began speaking again, saving her from having to respond. "This is also where the Frost fairies practice. They help keep the woods at the perfect chilly temperature." Just as she said this, several frost fairies looked up from icing more trees to wave. Titania was surprised, but waved back nonetheless.

The trio flew out of the woods and over a froze lake with a steep embankment. Fairies played on the ice, laughing as they chased each other around and practiced figure eights. Titania's eyes grew wide with recognition. That was the spot where she was "born"!

"Coming up on the Owl Express." Sled said, pointing. Titania watched as fairies she could only assume were members of the Animal Talent guild fed and groomed large, white owls.

Some were gently brushing through their feathers with combs while others inspected the birds from top to bottom and hauled tubs of grain that the owls pecked at hungrily. "So we just take care of the owls? That doesn't seem too bad."

Sled smirked lightly at her from over his shoulder. "Oh it's much more than that. Keeping the owls in tip-top shape is only half the work of the Animal fairies." Titania cocked her head in interest.

"In preparation for winter, we help the animals that live in Pixie Hollow safely cross from Winter to Spring when it's time for the seasons to change. We also take care of them while they're here. Then there are those that stay in the Winter Woods year-round."

The new fairy nodded in understanding as they continued. Next up was where the Snowflake fairies made the snow that fell on the world during Winter. Odetta explained it was their job to make sure no two had the same pattern. "Just like our wings!"

"Well, with a few exceptions."

Titania followed the older fairies into a spacious cavern with a jagged opening in the top of some craggy rocks. The inside was dank, but the further in they went, the more it glittered with shining crystal stalagmites that reflected just about every color of the rainbow. Titania heard herself gasp in awe.

"This is Crystal Cavern," Odetta said. "It's where the Crystal fairies are hard at work, mining the special ice crystals." Titania looked over at fairies wearing miner caps and using picks chipped at the crystal until it fell into the mine carts.

"What do they do with it?" Tani breathed, mesmerized.

"Lots of things," Odetta grinned. "Some gets sent to Lord Milori's palace, some gets used to make Never Melt mirrors—those are special. But most of it is crushed into shards and added to Pixie Dust Falls."

"What's that do?" Titania questioned.

"It's what makes us Winter fairies." Sled answered.

Titania's mismatched eyes grew round in fascination. "Really?" she breathed excitedly.

Odetta nodded. "Yep! Pixie Dust just makes us into fairies, right? But did you ever think about why we're born different than the Warm fairies?"

Titania shook her head. Considering she'd only just arrived not even an hour ago, the thought hadn't crossed her mind.

"The legend goes back when Pixie Hollow was young, there were only Warm fairies. It was hard for them to live and work in the Winter season, because of the risk that their wings could break from the cold, so the Queen sent her Ministers out to find something that could make it possible for fairies to live in what would become the Winter Woods. They found Crystal Cavern, and learned that when the crystals are crushed and combined with the Pixie Dust, it has a strange property of turning all newborns into Winter fairies! So now we carefully mine enough to evenly stir in to the Falls. Winter fairies have existed ever since." Odetta finished proudly.

" _Wow!_ " Titania had a newfound respect blossoming for the fairies working in the mines. It was largely because of them that she had been born a Winter fairy and was able to live in Winter Woods.

"Of course, as important as they are, all talents are equally important." the other female added wisely.

"That's right." Sled agreed. "We all work as one to bring the seasons to the Mainland and keep Pixie Hollow in balance."

"As one…" Tani repeated.

"It doesn't matter where they live…we're Never fairies, one and all." Odetta told her. "But, we're lucky enough to live here," she gestured widely to what looked like a village made of ice. "This is where most of us live."

The group flew closer, and Titania looked around in wide-eyed wonder as fairies in what appeared to be cozy-looking igloos waved from their front doors or flitted by. They were arranged in a dome shape around a statue of a fairy that she guessed must have been some past ruler of the Winter Woods. "Here we go," Sled sighed, landing in front of an indistinct ice house like all the others. "Home sweet home."

Titania stepped in behind him as he opened the door, looking around at the surprisingly warmly decorated interior. "Whoa! It's a lot bigger in here than it looks from the outside." She remarked, looking at the furniture, including a snug looking bed and some kind of fur carpet in the center of the floor.

"Right?" Odetta beamed. "And this is your new wardrobe!" she flung a wooden dresser open to reveal dainty outfits in shades of powder blue and white. "Good thing we keep the empty houses ready, just in case." she winked. "Looks like this one was stocked for a female fairy, anyway." Titania looked over the outfits on the hangers and had to agree.

"We'll leave you to get settled in." Sled grinned, walking back to the half-cracked door. "Meet up the Owl Barn, later? I'll show you the ropes."

"S-sure," Titania tried to look as calm as possible, but was sure she was failing miserably at it. Nevertheless, Sled gave her a small smile, nodded at Odetta and took off into the air. Titania watched him go, waving after his back until the other fairy cleared her throat. Titania turned around, cheeks rosy red in spite of her unusually tanned skin tone.

Odetta raised an eyebrow with a knowing smirk, but graciously chose not to comment. "I better get going too." she announced, "We need to meet up later to work out when you'll do your guild training with the Healing talents. I still need to show you the clinic, too." She hummed in frustration. "Drat! There just aren't enough hours in the day, huh?" she turned around to face the new fairy who was watching her curiously. "Choose whatever you like." She nodded at the clothes. "If nothing suits your taste, I'll show you to the tailoring depot later and we'll get the Tailor talents to whip you up something stylish."

Titania glowed with gratitude. She was grateful to have such a helpful, caring mentor. "I'm not very picky, I'm sure I can make it work."

Odetta seemed pleased. "Great. A simple girl with simple tastes," she gave a nod. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine. Ask someone how to get to the clinic if you need anything." She called, and then she had flown out the door as well. Titania quietly closed it behind her, and then turned back to inspect the room more closely. Next to her bed was a long mirror, perfect for getting a better look at herself. At the Ceremony, she'd been so focused on her wings, the Winter fairy hadn't really given herself a good once over.

Now she stood in the mirror, staring in open-mouthed shock. She was…so different looking than the others! They had pale skin, perfectly appropriate for winter fairies, but hers was a rich sun-kissed color with a healthy golden glow.

Her powder white hair was almost at her waist and her vivid mismatched eyes stared back at her from under long lashes. Titania blushed, hesitantly twirling to study the two sets of long, powerful wings that twitched even as she reached back and ran her hand down the lower left one. It hadn't been long, but she got a feeling no other fairy in Pixie Hollow looked anything like her.

No wonder everyone was so speechless when they saw her. Not even the Warm fairies she met looked like she did. There was one fairy wearing buttercup yellow with a cocoa brown complexion, but Titania's wasn't the same. She was more of a buttery olive, she realized.

"It's going to take a while getting used to seeing myself in the mirror." She mumbled, running a hand through her silky hair. She kind of liked it long, and decided she didn't want it cut. But…there had to be _some_ way to keep it out of her face while she worked, right? After hunting through the drawers, Titania came across some plain blue ribbon—probably a left over scrap—a nd hastily set to work tying her hair at the end so that the long strands falling over her shoulders were now held back in a very low tail. Her bangs were thankfully the perfect length for now, so she didn't need to worry about them getting in her eyes.

Except for a small piece of hair she decided to plait on one side, giving her some character. Titania grinned proudly at herself in the mirror, deciding she had just discovered her signature 'do. She looked at the outfit she'd arrived in and touched the hem of her shirt. It wasn't bad, but since all the other fairies wore winter colors and her clothes were made of a tropical plant, she decided it might be in her best interest to find a new outfit to avoid standing out.

Titania did that enough without any attention-grabbing outfit. She searched the dresser until she found a nice tunic made from mint leaves and some white three-quarter pants. Quickly discarding her old attire and folding it neatly, Titania slipped into the clothes from her closet and stared at the mirror once more in satisfaction. _Now_ she looked more like a winter fairy.

She found some standard white boots waiting for her by the bedside and slipped them on to find they fit perfectly. Whoever set this place up must've been psychic!

Titania the Winter fairy was officially ready to take on the world.

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter was boring! I'm still learning. I couldn't find a whole lot of fics centered on the Winter Woods fairies. Some of the stories, they appeared in, but it was not about them. I also wanted more Sled. Lol I'm a sucker for an attractive man with a connection to animals. Rosetta is so, so lucky. I would scoop him up in a heartbeat. ;) There will be bits of Milarion in this story throughout, and maybe some other couples, I'm not sure yet. This may start out RosettaxSled, but progress into something else. There's just not enough SledxOC to go around, so it's awfully tempting…even Bobble has more fics than Sled! Although he's adorable too, but never mind that. Haha The main focus is on the Winter fairies we met in Secret of the Wings, along with my OC. Tink and her friends will be in it too, of course. Feedback would be appreciated. Thank you~ ;)**

 **P.S. The Crystals bit is just me taking some creative license. It's my explanation in this story for why Winter fairies came to be. Their dust comes straight from the Tree after all, so something has to attribute for why the Dust in Winter Woods makes Winter fairies…besides just the location. Soo, I added in the stuff with the special crystals. It also was for the sake of having more talents to add since I'm guessing there are less winter talents than the other talents. They only control one realm and manage one season while the Warm fairies manage the other three; it'd make sense there'd be less Winter fairies as well as fewer Winter talents. I imagine some talents are shared between Warm and Winter fairies. Dust-keepers, for one; Animal fairies, medic/healing talents, etc.**


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